Block quotes are longer quotes that are separated from the surrounding text. Their format is the same as the surrounding text. What are they and what is their difference? Run-in quotations are usually shorter. There are two forms of direct quotations: run-in and block quotations. You can quote not only a person, but also a written source. So the important rule to remember is: “Quotation marks are used only with direct quotes”. Indirect quote: Alice said that she liked the snow. Time, ratio, business correspondence and references - these are other cases where a colon can be used.Įxamples: Direct quote: “I like the snow,” said Alice. The colon can also be used for emphasis when you want to single out one particular part of your sentence:Įxample: She was sure of one thing: her friends.It's like the case with a semicolon, but here the second part of the sentence explains the first.Įxample: I didn't want to go to Brazil: I already had plans to go to Italy with my husband. You can put a colon between independent clauses.When you introduce a quotation, an explanation, an example, or a series.Įxample: It was up to her to take the following actions: graduate, find a job, and become a partner at her law firm.As you can see, these two sentences can be easily separated. Examples: Sylvia was happy she knew that he would fall in love with her pretty soon. This will not be the case with a comma, where clauses depend on each other. If you put a period between them, the sentence will still work. How will you know when to use commas or semicolons? A semicolon connects extra independent parts of a sentence. The semicolon ( ) is usually used when connecting independent clauses. To indicate a salutation: Thanks for all your help, Mark. To separate repetitive parts: I love movies such as “Pretty Woman”, “When Harry met Sally”, and “You've got mail”. Examples: To separate logical parts of a sentence: When he came home, the sun was shining.